Comments on: How will Honda quitting affect F1?

By: chunter

chunter — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 20:01:22 +0000

Three-car teams was considered in the past, no doubt it will come up again if Honda do not have a buyer.

Technically, by being in receivership, aren’t Super Aguri still up for sale (at least by assets if not in full) as well? I smell a repeat of Andrea Moda…

By: AJ

AJ — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 04:29:37 +0000

I think this is a sad day for F1 but one has to wonder why Alonso didn’t opt for Honda at the end of the season. I think it was not fully related with the performance alone, other factors did come in to play and it may be that Honda’s quitting was one of them. Again it is a big “may be”.

By: Yosu

Yosu — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 02:49:49 +0000

Hey Bernie, maybe you and Max should sit down and talk.

By: Jess

Jess — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 21:29:17 +0000

For F1 to continue there has got to be some give from both the teams and management and Fans. F1 can still be the pinical of motor racing, that dose not mean they have to have all the most high end equipment in them. I mean come on most of what you see on F1 you cant buy in a street car, most of us cant afford a top Ferrai or Mercedies (sorry for my lousy spelling). As far as if this happens drivers will quit and manufacures pull out, well I say bye, bye. The sport is going on with out Honda it can go on with out ferrai. It will go on after Alanso. Someone else will come take their place. If you cut cost or your standize things or you allow this or that, it is going to make someone unhappy. For those who say if they do this it wont be F1 anymore, well maybe it wont be the old F1 but at this point F1 aint looking to good we have fewer cars and less race tracks now. There is no simple answer to how to fix the problem. In the end, everyone needs to do a little more give and work the proplem together and stop with the one answer solution to the problem. My 2 cents

By: beneboy

beneboy — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 19:36:01 +0000

Pink Peril @ No 12

Says it all really.

The sport may well start to implode sooner rather than later and for some of us it may be a good thing.

We’ve seen a lot of mismanagement and a world wide community of fans disregarded in an attempt to make obscene profits.

My sympathies are with the staff at all teams as the next year could be a very uncomfortable one for them but if the collapse of F1 brings about a new series that focuses more on racing cars & drivers then it may turn out to be for the best.

By: K

Fri, 05 Dec 2008 18:40:42 +0000

I don’t buy into this idea that because Honda have quit Toyota will quit because “their reason to be there was to compete with the other Japanese competitor”. Toyota are the worlds biggest car company. Honda don’t even produce half as many cars as them. Honda are not Toyota’s main rival in terms of selling cars. Toyota are a global company who compete in a global market primarily with GM, VW and Ford (none of whom are currently represented in F1). Even if Toyota did quit I don’t think it would be because of Honda, there are bigger things to consider.

By: GST

GST — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 18:30:08 +0000

Hey, didn’t Hyundai a few years ago say that they wanted to enter F1 in the near future. Well, if they were serious about it, then this is an ideal opportunity for them.

They can’t do any worse than Honda, now, can they?

I bet Nick Fry wishes they never got rid of Jacques Villeneuve now, eh?

By: andy

andy — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 17:51:29 +0000

it seems Herr Button may get a ride nxt year after all

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/dec/05/jensen-button-scuderia-toro-rosso

By: Chris

Chris — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 17:09:02 +0000

From my buddy Bob when I told him:

“Who is Force India going to race with now?”

By: Chaz

Chaz — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 16:40:21 +0000

Seems to me Bernie should stop threatening GP’s and reinstate the USA, Canadian, and French Grand Prix’s with immediate effect, even if they pay reduced fees. The car manufacturers need maximum help, publicity and exposure in what is a clearly a terrible global financial situation. The North American market is huge and fundamental. Come on Bernie… contain your ego and let common sense prevail for the sack of F1!

By: JD Scott

JD Scott — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 16:38:55 +0000

Everyone is mentioning Force India as being healthy. Yes, this is true, but Dr Mallya is a billionaire a few times over. He can afford to dissolve a contract with Ferrari and come to terms for a technical partnership with McLaren-Mercedes. For the rest of the F1 world, there needs to be cost cutting, like it or not. That’s reality. But then what do fans really want–fancy high-dollar multinationals or independent teams that can at least round up enough budget to build a chassis and bolt on an engine they can afford? Racin’ is still racin’, isn’t it? Did F1 not exist in the ’60s and ’70s? Modern fans only seem to care about F1 if it has big-spending corporations involved. That seems backwards to me.

By: Wesley

Wesley — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 16:36:01 +0000

@ DC (comment #36)

Why would Toyota want to keep throwing piles of money into F1 when their reason to be there was to compete with the other Japanese competitor?They haven’t had any success and now they can withdraw with their heads up and say at least they didn’t cave in first…..free and clear and saving billions.

By: DC

DC — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 16:23:47 +0000

For the same reason Michelin weren’t interested in being F1’s sole tyre suppliers. The point of motor racing is competition and beating the other guy. For Toyota the other guy is Honda.

I see what you are saying, Keith, but remember that the manufacturers look at F1 as a marketing tool. (What was that famous Enzo quote: “The other guys race to sell cars, we sell cars so we can race.”)

I can imagine Toyota pulling out, but not simply because Honda did so. Toyota would pull out because they need to cut costs, just like Ford/Jag a couple years ago and Honda now.

In a very real sense, Toyota F1’s intrinsic value just increased because Honda pulled out. They went into F1 because they saw the marketing and R&D benefits Honda was getting. Now Honda, one of their biggest rivals, has lost those benefits.

Think of it like a business, not a sport.

By: Robert McKay

Robert McKay — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 16:07:59 +0000

Robert I tend to disagree with your analogy of the Williams team being to model for future racing, last I heard they were in crippling debt and are having to fight tooth and nail to keep in the sport and with news about some of their key sponsors in trouble I feel it is the wrong benchmark to use.

I agree it’s the wrong model to take on manufacturers with. That’s why they are in debt, because they have to spend to compete with teams backed by companies with massive profits to boot.

But if everyone follows the Williams model the sport can be sustained much easier. Like it was just ten years ago.

By: Scott Joslin

Scott Joslin — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 15:18:22 +0000

Robert I tend to disagree with your analogy of the Williams team being to model for future racing, last I heard they were in crippling debt and are having to fight tooth and nail to keep in the sport and with news about some of their key sponsors in trouble I feel it is the wrong benchmark to use.

If Williams (and Force India)had not no opposed the customer team proposal so hard in which kept Prodrive and was one of the fundamental reason why Honda stopped supporting Super Aguri then there would be more teams in the sport in which to soften the blow of losing a team like Honda, but Williams seemed to want their cake and eat it a demand that teams needed to spend lots of money on building and designing their own cars, which is in the mindset if all the other big racing teams, that F1 racing is about throwing as much money at the team as possible without understanding the realistic returns. In protecting Williams pedigree it kept out other smaller teams, but ensured that it was trapped in a small pond with much bigger fish in.

Just a crazy out-there type though on this, with the global banks/car companies struggling, we are seeing the governing bodies of these countries bailing them out, I wonder if Bernie could put together a “bail out scheme” which would propose to reduce the teams cost in provision for certain returns, such as a budget cap on design and development or a maximum spend per year.

By: Alex

Alex — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 14:22:04 +0000

Will is seem the with mad max and berni taking page out Bob Mugabe’s book on how to run things it looks like F! is heading the same way as ZIM i feel sorry for honda i thought with Ross there that next year they would be the surpise!!!! they still surprised

By: ajokay

ajokay — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 14:20:14 +0000

I guess if Honda is sold, and Brawn gets Ferrari engines for the new team, then that leaves Rubens with less than 0% chance of a drive next year, what with all the recent spilling of Austria 2002’s beans.

By: ukk

ukk — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 14:09:20 +0000

Keith, yep, I also don’t think it will happen, but is an interesting thought

By: PJA

PJA — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 14:08:28 +0000

I think the main results of this will be that Max will have more power in his cost cutting drive, and so a standard engine will be more likely. Also the issue of customer cars will probably be back on the agenda.

By: Keith Collantine

Keith Collantine — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 14:04:29 +0000

Ajokay – yep!

DC –

Why in the world would Toyota leave for that reason?

For the same reason Michelin weren’t interested in being F1’s sole tyre suppliers. The point of motor racing is competition and beating the other guy. For Toyota the other guy is Honda.

Glad to see they’re sticking with the IRL at least.

UKK –

It is now the time for Flavio to move and get Button in Nelsinho’s seat.

I don’t think that’s going to happen.